1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a conveyor belt debris removal system most commonly on street and floor sweepers though other applications where particles are transported would be applicable. The conveyor belt debris removal system may be provided with an apparatus configured to form the belt into a particular shape along at least a portion of the run of the conveyor belt. The conveyor belt debris removal system may also be provided with a cleaning mechanism for removing debris from a conveyor belt roller disposed at ends of the conveyor belt apparatus.
2. Background
Street sweepers are a common necessity to maintaining the safety and beauty of streets and highways throughout the world. Street sweepers come in a variety of shapes and sizes for a variety of different functions. Some surfaces must be maintained meticulously clean for safety purposes, such as airport runways, taxi-ways, and helicopter landing strips. Other surfaces require cleaning to prevent flooding, such as sweeping the leaves from highways and streets to prevent ditches, culverts and storm drains from becoming clogged and preventing the runoff of snow melt and storm water.
In small towns and suburban neighborhoods, small, quiet, dust-less, and pollution free street sweepers are demanded. In order to provide a more efficient and durable street sweeper, a conveyor belt debris removal apparatus may be applied to convey the debris from the surface being cleaned to a debris collection bin in the street sweeper assembly. Conveyor belt debris removal systems suffer a drawback because of the flexible nature of the rubber or plastic conveyor belts.
During debris collection and removal, the conveyor belt may vibrate. The vibrations may cause debris to travel to the edges of the conveyor belt and fall into the interior space between the upper and lower revolving conveyor belts. The debris may then travel to the ends of the conveyor belt assembly and become attached to the rollers disposed at the ends of the conveyor assembly. The debris interferes with the rollers' frictional interaction with the conveyor belt causing the conveyor belt to stretch and slip over the rollers. The debris attached to the rollers causes increases wear on the debris removal system and may cause a catastrophic malfunction of the system.
In a conveyor belt debris removal system, tension must be maintained in the belt at all times, otherwise the belt will slip and be prevented from rolling as the drive roller turns causing the operation of the conveyor to be impeded or ultimately fail.
It can be seen that there is a need for a conveyor belt debris removal system provided with an apparatus configured to form the belt into a particular shape along at least a portion of the run of the conveyor belt to prevent debris from falling off the conveyor belt and damaging the debris removal system. It can also be seen that there is a need for a cleaning mechanism for removing debris from a conveyor belt roller disposed at ends of the conveyor belt apparatus to ensure that tension is maintained in the conveyor belt so that the frictional engagement between the rollers and the conveyor belt remains optimized.
By implementing this invention, the conveyor is able to operate for longer periods of time with less maintenance. The present invention fulfills these and other needs, and addresses other deficiencies of prior art implementations.